On August 18, artists from around Sonoma County came together to showcase their artwork for the opening night reception of the exhibit Out of the Shadows: A Collection of Transformative Art. The exhibit highlights the artistic contributions of mental health consumers from around the area, including four members of Telecare’s Sonoma ACT program.

Sonoma act artists (from left to right) Arlo y., ben, and phil mcclary. For the out of the shadows exhibit, Arlo contributed a drawing, ben contributed a poem, and phil contributed a watercolor painting.

Out of the Shadows was put together by the Sonoma County Wellness Art Collaborative, a collective of mental health service providers who offer vital support to individuals in their community. Witnessing the brilliant works of art depicting the transformative process of a person’s journey toward recovery, the wellness collective wanted to showcase their member’s talents and bring the work “out of the shadows” to recognize the creative contributions of our community.

"Culturally, we appreciate our artists who have eccentricities, but I don't know that we really appreciate our eccentrics who have artistic abilities," said Adam Kahn, a founding member of the wellness art collective, while talking to the Bohemian. "And a lot of the folks we work with do have those artistic abilities. Their way of being in the word is so unique, but oftentimes it's not something that's appreciated by the mainstream. A lot of that expression is shoved into corners or dark places."

On opening night, more than 200 members of the community turned up to see the exhibit, alongside live performances of poetry, song, puppetry, and comedy. This is the first event from the Sonoma County Wellness Art Collective, and with the great turn out, interest, and community building, the collective plans on more events in the future.

Admission to Out of the Shadows is free to the public, and 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the artwork will go to the artists. The exhibit will be on display at the Steele Lane Community Center in Santa Rosa, California, from August 18 through October 15, 2017. For more information, visit the Sonoma County Wellness Art Collaborative Facebook page by clicking here.